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Submitting a Pull Request to RaptoreumCore

This guide walks you through creating a new branch for your changes, pushing it to your fork, and submitting a pull request to the official RaptoreumCore repository.

Prerequisites

Step 1: Make Sure Your Fork is Up to Date

Before creating a new branch, sync your local master with the latest changes from the original repository:

git fetch upstream
git checkout master
git merge upstream/master
git push origin master

This ensures your branch is based on the latest code and avoids unnecessary merge conflicts.

Step 2: Create a New Branch

Always create a dedicated branch for each feature or fix. Never work directly on master.

git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name

Use a descriptive name that reflects what your branch does, for example:

Change type Example branch name
New feature feature/auto-bootstrap-download
Bug fix fix/wallet-compile-error
Documentation docs/build-instructions

Verify you are on the new branch:

git branch

The active branch is marked with an asterisk *.

Step 3: Make Your Changes

Edit the files you want to change. When you are done, check what has changed:

git status

Review the exact changes before committing:

git diff

Step 4: Stage and Commit Your Changes

Add only the files that belong to your change:

git add src/your-changed-file.cpp
git add src/your-other-file.h

Or add all changed files at once:

git add .

Write a clear and descriptive commit message:

git commit -m "Short description of what this change does

- More detail about what was changed and why
- Additional context if needed"

!!! tip A good commit message explains what the change does and why, not just how.

Step 5: Push Your Branch to GitHub

git push origin feature/your-feature-name

If this is the first time you push this branch, Git may suggest setting the upstream tracking:

git push --set-upstream origin feature/your-feature-name

Step 6: Open the Pull Request on GitHub

  1. Go to your fork on GitHub: 

    https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/raptoreum

  2. GitHub will show a yellow banner at the top: "feature/your-feature-name had recent pushes" → Click "Compare & pull request"

  3. Make sure the targets are set correctly:

    • base repository: Raptor3um/raptoreum
    • base: master
    • head repository: YOUR_USERNAME/raptoreum
    • compare: feature/your-feature-name

  4. Fill in the pull request form:

    Title — short and descriptive: 

    Add automatic bootstrap download on first run

    Description — explain what your PR does and why: 

    ## What this PR does
- Brief description of the change

## Why
- Reason for the change

## How it was tested
- Ubuntu 24.04, GCC 13

  5. Click "Create pull request"

Step 7: Respond to Feedback

The Raptoreum maintainers may request changes. If they do:

# Make the requested changes locally
git add .
git commit -m "Address review feedback: fix xyz"
git push origin feature/your-feature-name

The pull request updates automatically — no need to open a new one.

Keeping Your Branch Up to Date

If master has moved forward while your PR is open, rebase your branch to avoid conflicts:

git fetch upstream
git rebase upstream/master
git push origin feature/your-feature-name --force

!!! warning Only use --force on your own feature branches, never on master.

Clean Up After Your PR is Merged

Once your pull request has been merged, delete your feature branch:

# Delete local branch
git branch -d feature/your-feature-name

# Delete remote branch
git push origin --delete feature/your-feature-name

Then sync your local master:

git checkout master
git fetch upstream
git merge upstream/master
git push origin master